Total to Start Unit at Port Arthur Oil Refinery Today

By Nidaa Bakhsh

Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Total SA, Europe's third-largest oil company, will start a unit at its Port Arthur refinery in Texas today following an ``economic'' shutdown.

The unit, an isomerization plant, will restart around 8 a.m. local time, resulting in flaring, or burning of chemicals into the air, according to a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The emissions event is expected to last until 2 p.m. tomorrow. Isomerization units produce components for gasoline that boost the motor fuel's performance.

Total may flare as much as 8,500 pounds of carbon monoxide from three stacks, the Paris-based company said in the filing. The Port Arthur plant can process 240,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the U.S. Energy department.

All associated units are ``running normally,'' Total said in the filing. Flares are safety devices that prevent pressure from building up within refinery processing units.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc are Europe's two largest oil companies.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nidaa Bakhsh in London at nbakhsh@bloomberg.net